Vehicle hitch



Jan. 5, 1954 G. o. BIRDWELL VEHICLE HITCH Filed Aug. 30. 1951 Gus 0. Birdwe/l INVENTOR.

Patented Jan. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES r TENT OFFICE 1 Claim. 1

This invention relates to improvements in hitches to couple vehicles together, implements to vehicles or implements to implements.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved hitch to be used for coupling a trailing implement, vehicle or other movable device to a towing one, the hitch including a bifurcated element at the end of a tongue, which bifurcated element is provided with a pivoted plate having provision therein to be locked in one of a number of positions, together with a wear resistant element preventing direct contact of the plate with the bifurcated member.

Ancillary objects and features of importance will become apparent to those skilled in the art in following the description of the illustrated form of the invention.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a fragmentary plan view of a trailing vehicle, whether it be an implement, wagon or other type of implement connected by my improved hitch with a towing vehicle having a rigid drawbar;

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevational view of the hitch, parts being shown in section to illustrate in general detail;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on a line 3-3 of Figure 2 drawn to a smaller scale;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on a line 4-4 of Figure 2 and in the direction of the arrows;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary plan view of an implement connected by my improved hitch to a tractor having a pivoted drawbar, and

Figure 6 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a fragmentary part of a tractor Iil having a rigid drawbar E2 of standard description fixed thereto. There is an implement it fragmentarily and schematically shown, which implement may be of any known type, the word implement as used herein indicating a farm implement, wagon, or other towed element. There is a draft l8 conventionally connected with the implement it, the draft being provided at its forward end with a bifurcated member which is made by providing a slot 22 in a block, the slot opening through the front end thereof.

The bifurcated member has outwardly flared sides for rigidity and strength of construction and also to provide ample stock for attachment of various elements. There is a substantially vertical passage 26 in the furcations 23 and 30 of the member 20 and it accommodates a pivot pin 32 which has an enlarged head to prevent it from falling completely through the passage 25.

There is a recess or relieved section 3 1 in the upper furcation 253 which communicates with the outer end of the slot 22. A bearing 38 is fastened in the recess 3 by standard means, as the screws 39 and M! and the purpose of the bearing is to prevent direct metal to metal contact of the tongue &2 with the bottom surface of the upper furcation 28. It is preferable that the bearing member be made of wood or some other material by the tongue 42 may be held at any desired angle with respect to the longitudinal axis of the draft l8.

There is a second passageway 56 through the furcations 28 and 3% to accommodate the spring loaded pin 58. This spring loaded pin is provided with a collar 6!] intermediate the knob at its upper end 62 and the lower end thereof, upon which the spring 64 seats. This spring bears against the top part of a small casing 66 which is fastened to the slotted member 20 thereby constantly yieldingly pressing the pin 58 inwardly of the passage 56 and through an aperture 68 provided in the tongue 32.

A hitch pin it is used to connect the tongue 42 with the tractor drawbar 52, being passed through one of the standard openings it in the drawbar, an aperture l t in the tongue 42 and also an aperture 15, which is one of a plurality of them in the bracket 76 which is secured at one end to the tongue 42 and which is adapted to underlie the drawbar H2. The aperture "is is also one of a group whereby the coupling pin 76 may be fastened to the tongue in one of a number of positions.

In operation the coupling pin it is passed through aligned apertures it and 15. Accord ingly this leaves the end of the tongue projected at a slight incline inasmuch as it is bent upwardly at a point intermediate its ends. At this time the tongue 42 being fitted in the slot 22 is located so that the pin 32 may be passed through one of the plurality of apertures 46 and also through the passage 26 to obtain the desired angular relationship between the longitudinal axis of the draft l8 and the tongue 42. The spring loaded pin 56 is retained in the aperture 63 at this time, to be lifted therefrom to allow the draft l8 to be pivotal about the pin 32 as a vertical axis.

In Figure 5 I have illustrated my hitch as coupling the implement [6 to a swingable drawbar 80 pivoted to the tractor In as at 8!. As illustrated in Figure 5 in full lines the tractor 10 with a pivoted drawbar 80 need not be backed into precise coupling position forwardly of the hitch but with the pin 58 retracted to ride on the tongue 42, as shown in Figure 6, said tongue and the drawbar 80 may be swung into angular relation for coupling the drawbar' 80 to" the tongue 42 by means of the hitch pin 10. Then when the tractor I0 is driven forwardly the tongue 42 and drawbar 80 will be swung into alignment 4 for pivotally connecting said tongue to said drawbar at selected positions along the same for horizontal swinging into different angular positions relative to said member in offset relation to the longitudinal center of the tractor, said tongue having a series of vertical openings in the other end thereof registering respectively with the opening in said member in the different angular positions of the tongue, a pivot pin for insertion in the opening in said member and the opening in the tongue registering therewith in the different angular positions of the tongue and on which said tongue tends to swing out of said angular positions under pull of the tractor, and coacting snap action devices on said member and tongue for locking said tongue to said member against swinging out of said angular positions.

GUS O. BIRDWELL.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,408,501 Clement Mar. 7, 1922 2,138,512 Rogers Nov. 29, 1938 2,512,836 Olson- June 27,1950

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Y Country Date 213,580 Switzerland May 16, 1941 

